New podcast: Fighting for our democracy

David Pepper is out with a new book that tells us how we can get in the battle

The fight is where you live

I am in Montreal this week for a short visit and it’s remarkable how often when I mention I’m involved in American politics locals respond how crazy things are in the States. It’s almost ritualistic and I can’t argue otherwise. Things are crazy in the U.S.

The leading candidate for the Republican Party faces dozens of criminal charges and increases in popularity. Far right groups and elected representatives are pushing lies and increasingly extreme laws across the country. Books are being banned and healthcare denied. All of this while the Congress grinds to a halt over the GOP’s complete inability to govern.

It would be easy to get down about it all but I know that we are fighting for our nation’s future. We really can’t quit.

There is an old saying that all politics is local. It is as true now as it always has been even as we are able to watch and participate in national politics in real time right from our phones. The battle for the future of our country is happening right at your local school board, city council, and state house.

David Pepper grew up in Cincinnati and ended up serving on the city council as his first step in politics. Eventually he rose to serving as Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and has made it his personal mission to empower Americans to understand the dynamics of our system and be part of it. He is partner on the Blue Ohio effort to support more Democrats running for state house and ensure every race is competitive.

His latest book ‘Saving Democracy; A User’s Manual for Every American’ follows his successful 2021 book Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake Up Call from Behind the Lines that laid out how Republicans and their allies are taking over at the state house and below. The constant refrain he heard from readers was “well, okay, now what do I do?” So, he tells us in every chapter of this latest book just how to get in the fight.